Sick leave. Council approved on final passage a bill to require businesses with five or more employees to provide paid sick days based on time with the company.
Under the proposal from Councilmen Darrell L. Clarke and William K. Greenlee, workers at companies with more than 10 employees would earn an hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked, up to seven paid days a year. Companies with more than four employees would be responsible for offering up to four sick days for employees.
Nutter is expected to veto it, an action that would require 12 Council votes to overturn. Nutter also could leave the bill unsigned, and with Council going on recess next week, it could not become law before September.
Opponents said that it would kill jobs and that the timing was bad in the continuing fragile economy. Advocates said sick time is a basic right and that it works in San Francisco and Washington.
"We think when the mayor looks at the bill on its merits, that he will sign it and make Philadelphia a much healthier city," said Marianne Bellesorte, senior director of policy for Pathways PA, an advocacy organization for women and families.
Voting for the bill were Jannie L. Blackwell, Blondell Reynolds Brown, Clarke, W. Wilson Goode Jr., Greenlee, Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr., Donna Reed Miller, and Maria Quiñones Sánchez.
Against were Democrats Frank DiCicco, Anna C. Verna, James F. Kenney, Joan Krajewski, and Marian B. Tasco, and all three Republicans: Jack Kelly, Brian O'Neill, and Frank Rizzo.
DROP. It's astonishing that DROP could get second billing to anything, given the bitter debate over the perk that results in six-figure pension payouts for many workers, including elected officials, when they retire.
DROP has become a symbol of greed for many critics because it allows elected officials to receive those payouts and then run for reelection.
